LETTERS: Panhandlers are hurting downtown Wilmington

Thursday

EDITOR: The Trump administration’s recent decision to put federal plans for offshore drilling on hold resulted from the objections of coastal residents, environmentalists, and Democrats and Republicans who, at varied levels of government, made our voices heard and protected our coast.

One example is the lawsuit against seismic blasting (the testing/mapping prelude to offshore drilling). Originally filed by 16 South Carolina towns, it was then joined by coastal states and environmental groups, and most recently, three Brunswick County beach towns. This lawsuit is only beginning to make its way through the courts, but the increasing depth and breadth of support sends a clear message: Our citizens don’t want offshore drilling.

It might seem that the process of democracy is alive and well in this case, but Bloomberg News (April 25, 2019), reports that the federal "hold" is temporary, planned to last only until after the 2020 election.

So the question becomes: Will our coastal area residents persevere over the long haul? Going forward, I hope local, regional, and/or national press will track relevant developments -- and report on how the process of democracy is working now, in the first quarter of the 21st century on this crucial issue.

Judith Droitcour, Caswell Beach

A false argument

EDITOR: Seems that George Will’s column of April 28 continues to parrot the Republican Party line on Federal Debt that tries to confuse Treasury spending financed by Individual and Corporate Income Taxes with Social Security and Medicare spending which was intended to be insurance programs separately self financed by workers’ specific payroll tax deductions.

By attempting to commingle the two distinctly different expenditures Republicans then blame our exploding National debt on the rising costs of the two Entitlement Programs caused by an aging population instead of admitting that the actual problem is insufficient Treasury revenue due to grossly irresponsible tax reduction policies, particularly when it comes to the highest income earners.

Currently Social Security has generated a $3 trillion surplus, and shortages with Medicare can easily be corrected with a modest increase in the present 1.5% payroll tax. The false argument that increasing taxes on the country’s richest will create a shortage of funds for future business investment is disproved by the fact that in the past decade corporations have spent some $4 trillion to buy back their own stocks and presently there is over $9 trillion in unproductive funds sitting in the Nation’s banks.

Gustav Dahl, Wilmington

Panhandler problem

EDITOR: As an outsider moving to this region in 2014; I’ve become both enchanted, and disgusted, with downtown Wilmington. Enchanted enough to sell our suburban home in Leland and buy a downtown condo; disgusted enough to develop a passionate determination to advocate for changes that should be obviously necessary to our City officials.

While visionaries push forward with developments like Port City Marina, River Place, Pier 33, and The Flats On Front; local officials stand by complacently and allow panhandling and vagrancy to attain unreasonable levels that undermine our objectives of making downtown a desirable destination for tourists and those looking for a new home in a warmer climate.

What I have observed since moving downtown a little more than a year ago serves to support just how unreasonable complacency has become. I’ve seen vagrants approaching bank patrons of local banks in drive through teller and ATM lines – scaring some into leaving before completing their intended transactions. I’ve been asked for money while eating dinner at local restaurants. These examples only scratch the surface of what I’ve observed.

While walking the Riverwalk in the morning, anyone can typically observe homeless people loitering on benches and at tables on Water Street behind the Visitor Info Center at the base of Market Street. Isn’t this where we expect tourists to come to learn about Wilmington? Should they be intimidated by panhandling strangers and have to explain this to their children? ...

Roger Johnson, Wilmington

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